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Fanfiction: The Fate of the Dark Master (QfG)
This story was first posted on Sword'n'Sorcery on Tumblr on May 4, 2012. It takes place during the end of ''Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, and uses a Paladin Hero who rescued Erana from Hades.'' The Fate of the Dark Master He had left her there. Chosen the other — the pure, honorable little half-breed. After she had sacrificed everything for him — her life, her being, her eternity. And yet still she longed for him, even as she watched him walk away. Love was a sickness. The Guardian turned to face Katrina. He’d told the Hero what he intended to do. There was no need to explain it to her. He reached out and suddenly she was filled with pain. She screamed… she could feel herself fading into it. Ceasing to exist at all. Even this shadowy spirit form, locked in the flaming depths of, was better than ceasing to exist at all. With all of her might she fought him. He was a cosmic entity — the Guardian of Hades. His power had limits unfathomable to mere mortals. But Katrina was no mere mortal. She had been the Dark Master. A wizard so powerful she was feared by magic users the world over. She had enslaved death, bound it to her will, and beaten it away. She had controlled the weather and brought nations to their knees. Her own life had not been able to be taken from her by anything short of Avoozl, the Dark One. The Guardian was not ready for this. He struggled against her…. and she called upon more power. The struggle continued but would not end. ~~*~~ “If I cannot rule what is rightfully mine, then I will destroy it. You cannot stop me! I am your doom!” Devon Aidendale and Elsa von Spielburg stared up at the mad man holding the Prophecy Stone. If he threw it from the balcony, it would shatter and — as he had summarily just informed them, as though they didn’t already know — release the Dragon of Doom from its imprisonment to destroy all of Silmaria. But that’s not what he did. In a quick, unpredictable move, he threw himself from the balcony, clutching the Prophecy Stone to him. Elsa gasped and somewhere in the back of his mind, Devon remembered the voice of the Sibyl of Delos: “He will seek victory, even in his defeat.” When he landed, Minos was dead. Shards of the broken Prophecy Stone lay around his body, emitting an ominous red glow. “I fear we are in very big trouble now,” Elsa stated. “There has to be a way to get to Marete from this island,” Devon said, thinking fast, “Search everything.” The two found some potions and an enormous axe in the hands of the fallen minotaur’s corpse, which Devon deposited in his bag of holding — bigger weapons would no doubt come in handy against the Dragon. By some miracle, Erana appeared in the air above them. As soon as she arrived, Devon calmed. She had always soothed him — even before they met and he knew of her only from visiting the gardens she had left behind in her travels. But she did not come with good news. “My friend, the Dragon of Doom has awakened. We must stop it before it destroys Silmaria,” she announced, “By the grace of goodness, I summon thee to darkest battle.” Without further warning, Devon, Erana, and Elsa were transported away. ~~*~~ The Guardian stopped. And yet still, her spirit was. Practically invisible even to herself but she existed. She could feel it. Had she won? What was happening. “You fool,” she snapped at him, “I reign over death. I was the Dark Master!” “And yet,” he intoned in his emotionless voice, “Something darker comes. The dead will flood Hades and all will be lost.” “What is it?” she breathed. Even in her darkest moments, she had never wanted death. Without life, what would she have fed upon as a vampire? “What can I do?” “Nothing. You are dead. A powerful life must be sacrificed to restore you to life — and he who would have willingly given it for you chose another.” The Guardian was clearly not one for tact — but what he said made sense. Devon was powerful. He had given life to restore Erana to life…. and yet he had walked away. Still alive. So much power was there that he could sacrifice enough to bring Erana back from the dead and still live himself. Her mind whirred and calculated…. there had to be somewhere else to get such power from. ~~*~~ Erana had summoned Elsa’s minotaur friend Toro to aid in the battle as well and Gort though made by twisted science — had proven himself more than what his creators had ever wanted by arriving in the nick of time himself. Toro and Gort helped Devon push the Dragon Pillar back upright — weakening the Dragon even as it rose from the temple that had been built around its sleeping form. Devon had realized almost immediately that Toro would be able to use the axe he’d found much better than any human, and had relinquished it immediately. Then, dodging the flames of the lava pool and the Dragon of Doom, Devon ensured his allies were all handily equipped with healing potions and fireproofing oils. He called out to Erana that he loved her, drew his flaming Paladin blade and plunged headlong into battle with the Dragon — his mind racing. The Sibyl had called for someone to sacrifice his or herself in order to weaken the dragon enough that it could be slain — and yet, he wanted so badly to live out his life with Erana. He would not — could not — sacrifice himself. “To Hades with the prophecy,” Devon snarled, giving chase. The dragon landed on the opposite side of the massive cavern, and his attackers launched into him again. After what seemed like an eternity of fighting — the Dragon launched into the air once more. It seemed to be heading up — out of the cave through the top of the volcanic mountain! “We’ll never kill it if it gets outside of the cave!” Devon shouted with dread. Had his indecision — his own selfish desire to live — cost them this battle? Cost Silmaria this battle? The dragon faltered and then… crashed into the lava below it! It was defeated… for good this time! ~~*~~ A roaring noise filled the air — the unmistakable sound of a dragon. And then a massive wind. Power — pure magical energy — flooded through Hades. Indeed, it must have been flooding all of Gloriana as well. Something of immense power had been slain. Who knew an opportunity would come so quickly? Katrina grabbed at the Guardian’s staff. “No!” he shouted — showing an emotion for the first time since her death, that of fear. “You cannot! It is not—” But she had a hold of his staff already and she knew, instinctively, what to do. With the staff in hand and forced the energy flooding the caverns into her own spiritual form. And at the same time, she felt herself solidify. With a smirk, she released the staff. “Cannot? I just did.” With a wave of her hand, she vanished, teleporting herself to the lands of the living somewhere far above her. The Guardian sighed. “It is not life, it is fire. And now it is infused in you.” The end...? Inspiration So once upon a time on the School for Heroes forums, Corey Cole — one of the creators of Quest for Glory — said that he would sometimes imagine that Katrina and Erana were both alive, that maybe the Hero went back for whichever one he didn’t rescue. I completely agree that it would be awesome if they both lived in the post-''Dragon Fire'' world. However, in the game the Guardian tells the Hero he’s going to send her soul into oblivion — and, aside from sounding like a good segue for an Elder Scrolls crossover (ooh, there’s a thought!), the line sort of indicates that the Hero should at least believe that there’s nothing to go back for. Right? Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t but hey, getting to Hades and the Guardian was not really an easy thing to do to begin with so I figure he’d need a good solid important reason to go back. So I’m thinking, it’s far more likely that whoever is left behind would need to save herself. And I’m thinking Erana, who always respected life and nature, would not be likely to try to upset the natural balance by doing that for herself. Katrina, on the other hand, is at her absolute *best* ambiguously amoral. This left me — in my mind — with two options. Either Katrina has to somehow get Devon’s energy or she has to get somewhere else. Now, don’t think for a second I didn’t think of option A — I did and that’s a whole much longer story. But, in this story I went with option B. Here’s why: So, we’re told in the course of the game that the Dragon of Doom is not a normal dragon. It’s sort of like an elemental constructed of fire and infused with destruction, anger, and hate. Now, when Ad Avis dies at the end of Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire, it releases enough magical energy to open a World Gate and allow demons into the world (the main plot of Quest for Glory III: Wages of War). Just imagine what could happen if all the magical energy — fire and hate — that the Dragon of Doom is constructed of was released into the world? Cataclysmic happenings, is my guess. I’m figuring it’s probably better for everyone if that energy goes somewhere else, even if it is the borderline evil Katrina. And so that’s what I did. Fate of the Dark Master